And thanks to everyone who left a comment, funny or serious, as to why they believe in the existence of extraterrestrials, here are a few of our favourites.

zcam
No human mind could come up with something as horrible as jar jar binks.

Doug Dorman
Because we need to win copies of Blu-rays

Bryan Lindsey
So Will Smith will have something left to shoot after he cures vamprirism and neuters all of the insurgent robots.

Crispian
Of course Extra-Terrestrials exist- Simon Pegg says so!

Alan
I think that the rash of alien movies that started in the ’60′s are all part of a government plot to prepare us for the existence of extra-terrestrials. “men in Black” was originally a leaked diary. “Close Encounters” was originally supposed to be a documentary, but after it was shot (and before it was released) someone (and the rumours don’t specify if it was one of ours or one of them) decided it was too much for the common folk, so it was reworked as “fiction”
And yes we did land on the moon, we just didn’t transmit the imaged of outposts we found there…
;)

Rob Goode
Mommy used to tell me that there are no real monsters…but there are, aren’t there? I’ve seen them. They mostly come at night…mostly.

mattb5
I believe in the existence of extra-terrestrials because of the Drake Equation

One of my favourite films of the year so far is coming to Blu Ray and DVD on August 9th, and GeekDad has five copies up for grabs for our American and Canadian readers. Written by, and starring, two great English geeks, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Paul, tells the tale of a stranded alien and his mission to get back home.

For the cinema release I wrote ‘10 Things You Should Know About Paul‘, but the TL;DR version is basically Pegg and Frost are two geeks visiting Comic-Con before embarking on a tour of UFO hotspots, where they happen upon Paul trying escape his captors and help him to reach his ride home, dealing along the way with various Men in Black, hillbillies, Christian Zealots and cramming a ton sci-fi movie references into the 1 hour 45 minutes running time.

The blu ray features an ‘Unrated’ version of the movie, which basically seems to eschew the idea of ‘deleted or extended scenes’ in favour of putting them back in to the flow of the movie. So we are treated to about five and half minutes of extra footage compared to the theatrical release (which is also included on the disc). The majority of these extra minutes are extended scenes between the main characters, so we get a few extra lines of Ruth’s experiments with cussing – which was one of my favourite bits of the film – and some banter between Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio’s agent characters. Ruth and Paul’s heated debate about the nature of evolution is much longer and one of the better ones, but I don’t really know if they add anything, or for that matter if taking them out of the theatrical release made it a better film. It was only because I had the ‘digital copy’ of the original version running on my iPad that I could spot where there were!

In amongst the standard extras of commentaries, blooper reels, and behind the sceens featurettes, one feature stood out for me, ‘The Evolution of Paul‘. It’s an in depth look at the creation of a single character, showcasing some of the 250 people who worked to bring him to life, from the performance capture of Seth Rogen to the CGI animators, traditional sculptors and model makers. It shows all of the various tricks used to make him as believable as possible – sometimes he was a kid in a green screen suit, sometimes a dummy would be used so the actors had something to act with and deform their clothing properly, and then the CGI layers added over the top. Fascinating stuff, and just as full of swearing as the main movie, so watch out with the younger kids

However, the best bit of it is a ‘test scene’ produced long before production on the film actually started for real, made to sell the idea to the studio. It’s set inside the RV and features a polished, but not finished version of Paul, interacting with Pegg and Frost who look like they’re dressed as groupies from a glam rock band, complete with perms and huge ‘tasches!

The start of the main behind the scenes documentary, ‘Between the Lightning Strikes‘, follows the genesis of the film from the idea to ‘make a film somewhere sunny’ – formed on a wet and rainy garden set during ‘Shaun of the Dead‘ – through to a 10 day research trip Pegg and Frost did across the locations in a huge RV that actually inspired many of the scenes in the film – the bird hitting the windscreen and the Hillbillies were apparently real!

Here’s a short clip of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as they discuss their favorite bonus clips from the Blu Ray. One thing I was hoping for that I can’t seem to find is the ‘Homage-o-meter’. Starting with Spaced and continuing with Shaun and Hot Fuzz, the Homage-o-meter is essentially a sub-title track that points out all the in jokes and homages in the films. Some of them are obvious, but I’m sure there are loads more that I’ve missed, even with the repeated viewings! Maybe it’s in the commentaries from Pegg, Frost, Mottola, Hader and producer Nira Park.

To whet you’re appetite some more, here’s a list of some of the bonus features:

RV Doorway: The Cast of Paul On-Location — The cast is just as funny off-screen as they are in front of the camera.

Runway Santa Fe: An Interview with Nancy Steiner — Follow Nancy Steiner, the costume designer, as she chooses hilarious T-shirts and wardrobe for the cast.

Smithereens — Blowing up a house on location causes excitement among the cast.

5th Date Level Direction: The Cast on Greg Mottola — The cast talks about the fun of working with Mottola, who also directed Superbad.

Mexico Zero: The Locations of Paul — Mexico Zero is the nickname the cast gives to New Mexico, where the majority of filming was done for Paul.

The Many Pauls — To create Paul, the filmmakers used all the tricks of the trade, from capturing Seth Rogen’s facial expressions and movements, to using a child dressed up as an alien while on-set.

Paul: The Musical — The cast joins together for an impromptu musical version of the film.

The Traveler Beagle — A look at all the different RVs used on the set of Paul, from fully functioning vehicles to a mock-up on a Hollywood soundstage.

Bloopers

The Evolution of Paul — An inside look at how Paul became a living, breathing alien.

Paul is out on August 9th and I think it deserves a space in any self-respecting geek’s library. To be in with a chance of winning a copy, leave a comment below telling us why you believe in the existence of extra-terrestrials, by August 14th, and we’ll pick our five favourite entries.

UPDATE: Really sorry everyone, I forgot to say that the giveaway is only open to North American and Canadian readers

[This article, by Nathan Barry, was originally published on Tuesday. Please leave all comments on the original.]

One of my favourite films of the year so far is coming to Blu Ray and DVD on August 9th, and GeekDad has five copies up for grabs for our American and Canadian readers. Written by, and starring, two great English geeks, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Paul, tells the tale of a stranded alien and his mission to get back home.

For the cinema release I wrote ‘10 Things You Should Know About Paul‘, but the TL;DR version is basically Pegg and Frost are two geeks visiting Comic-Con before embarking on a tour of UFO hotspots, where they happen upon Paul trying escape his captors and help him to reach his ride home, dealing along the way with various Men in Black, hillbillies, Christian Zealots and cramming a ton sci-fi movie references into the 1 hour 45 minutes running time.

The blu ray features an ‘Unrated’ version of the movie, which basically seems to eschew the idea of ‘deleted or extended scenes’ in favour of putting them back in to the flow of the movie. So we are treated to about five and half minutes of extra footage compared to the theatrical release (which is also included on the disc). The majority of these extra minutes are extended scenes between the main characters, so we get a few extra lines of Ruth’s experiments with cussing – which was one of my favourite bits of the film – and some banter between Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio’s agent characters. Ruth and Paul’s heated debate about the nature of evolution is much longer and one of the better ones, but I don’t really know if they add anything, or for that matter if taking them out of the theatrical release made it a better film. It was only because I had the ‘digital copy’ of the original version running on my iPad that I could spot where there were!

In amongst the standard extras of commentaries, blooper reels, and behind the sceens featurettes, one feature stood out for me, ‘The Evolution of Paul‘. It’s an in depth look at the creation of a single character, showcasing some of the 250 people who worked to bring him to life, from the performance capture of Seth Rogen to the CGI animators, traditional sculptors and model makers. It shows all of the various tricks used to make him as believable as possible – sometimes he was a kid in a green screen suit, sometimes a dummy would be used so the actors had something to act with and deform their clothing properly, and then the CGI layers added over the top. Fascinating stuff, and just as full of swearing as the main movie, so watch out with the younger kids

However, the best bit of it is a ‘test scene’ produced long before production on the film actually started for real, made to sell the idea to the studio. It’s set inside the RV and features a polished, but not finished version of Paul, interacting with Pegg and Frost who look like they’re dressed as groupies from a glam rock band, complete with perms and huge ‘tasches!

The start of the main behind the scenes documentary, ‘Between the Lightning Strikes‘, follows the genesis of the film from the idea to ‘make a film somewhere sunny’ – formed on a wet and rainy garden set during ‘Shaun of the Dead‘ – through to a 10 day research trip Pegg and Frost did across the locations in a huge RV that actually inspired many of the scenes in the film – the bird hitting the windscreen and the Hillbillies were apparently real!

Here’s a short clip of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as they discuss their favorite bonus clips from the Blu Ray. One thing I was hoping for that I can’t seem to find is the ‘Homage-o-meter’. Starting with Spaced and continuing with Shaun and Hot Fuzz, the Homage-o-meter is essentially a sub-title track that points out all the in jokes and homages in the films. Some of them are obvious, but I’m sure there are loads more that I’ve missed, even with the repeated viewings! Maybe it’s in the commentaries from Pegg, Frost, Mottola, Hader and producer Nira Park.

To whet you’re appetite some more, here’s a list of some of the bonus features:

RV Doorway: The Cast of Paul On-Location — The cast is just as funny off-screen as they are in front of the camera.

Runway Santa Fe: An Interview with Nancy Steiner — Follow Nancy Steiner, the costume designer, as she chooses hilarious T-shirts and wardrobe for the cast.

Smithereens — Blowing up a house on location causes excitement among the cast.

5th Date Level Direction: The Cast on Greg Mottola — The cast talks about the fun of working with Mottola, who also directed Superbad.

Mexico Zero: The Locations of Paul — Mexico Zero is the nickname the cast gives to New Mexico, where the majority of filming was done for Paul.

The Many Pauls — To create Paul, the filmmakers used all the tricks of the trade, from capturing Seth Rogen’s facial expressions and movements, to using a child dressed up as an alien while on-set.

Paul: The Musical — The cast joins together for an impromptu musical version of the film.

The Traveler Beagle — A look at all the different RVs used on the set of Paul, from fully functioning vehicles to a mock-up on a Hollywood soundstage.

Bloopers

The Evolution of Paul — An inside look at how Paul became a living, breathing alien.

Paul is out on August 9th and I think it deserves a space in any self-respecting geek’s library. To be in with a chance of winning a copy, leave a comment below telling us why you believe in the existence of extra-terrestrials, by August 14th, and we’ll pick our five favourite entries.

Take a look at the gorgeous new teaser trailer for The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, coming to cinemas this December. Directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by Peter Jackson, written by Stephen Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish and chock-full of geek faves in the acting/mo-cap department — Andy Serkis, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Cary Elwes and Daniel Craig to name a few — it’s already shaping up to be a great treat for the holidays.

The animation in the trailer looks amazing — performance capture has come a long way since Tom Hanks’s multiple roles in The Polar Express, and it enables Pegg and Frost to play Thompson and Thomson, even though they don’t exactly look like each other! The ship sailing through the sea/sand dunes is jaw-droppingly good, and there’s plenty of action in the two minutes and twenty seconds. Moffat and Wright have taken ideas from four of Hergé’s storylines (“The Crab with the Golden Claws,” “The Secret of the Unicorn” and “Red Rackham’s Treasure”) and merged them into one screenplay — let’s hope that all of these great elements can deliver in the final film.

If you weren’t lucky enough to catch Paul at SXSW last weekend or at Graumann’s Chinese Theatre Monday, then you can catch this sci-fi-comedy in a cinema near you starting Friday. Here are the 10 things you should know about it.

(To see the trailer and find out more, head on over to the (fully Flashed-up) official site — after you’re done here, of course!)

1. What’s it all about, then?
Paul is an wisecracking alien who has been holed up in Area 51 for the last 60 years, but now decides it’s time to leave the top-secret military base. He ends up hitching a ride with comic book geeks Graeme and Clive as they start a road trip after attending San Diego Comic-Con.

2. Will I like it?
If you read this blog regularly, then I’m fairly confident in saying that you will. The movie was written by and stars übergeeks Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, whom you may know from or Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz or the excellently geeky British sitcom, Spaced.

3. Will my kids like it?
If they’re old enough to get in, then probably. The film is rated R, as Paul likes his weed, and there’s a lot of swearing — and that’s British-style swearing, too. After meeting Paul, Kristin Wiig’s character, Ruth, rejects her strict religious upbringing and starts swearing like a trooper. Except that she doesn’t really know how to do it properly, so just strings lots of rude words together. There’s no mention of the c-word that I can remember, but her delivery of the medically correct term for that particular part of the female anatomy is genius.

Graeme and Clive at Comic-Con

4. What’s the geek appeal?
Are you kidding me? Pegg and Frost pack so many in jokes and references into the hundred or so minutes, that hardly one of those minutes goes by without a nod to Star Wars, Star Trek or some kind of alien (small ‘a’ intentional) movie. One of the best gags sees the queen of sci-fi, Sigourney Weaver, having one of her most famous lines thrown back at her. And there’s a bit of music hidden away in one scene that might take you a few bars to recognize, but you’ll laugh out loud when it sinks in. And, yes, it really is that person on the other end of the phone in that warehouse.

5. When’s the best time for a bathroom break?
I couldn’t really say for sure, but because of a few pre-movie beverages with my fellow got-a-rare-night-out Dads, I popped out twice and I don’t think I missed anything important. I did however earn the ridicule of my fellows for echoing Nick Frost’s character and his “child’s bladder.”

If you weren’t lucky enough to catch Paul at SXSW last weekend or at Graumann’s Chinese Theatre Monday, then you can catch this sci-fi-comedy in a cinema near you starting Friday. Here are the 10 things you should know about it.

(To see the trailer and find out more, head on over to the (fully Flashed-up) official site — after you’re done here, of course!)

1. What’s it all about, then?
Paul is an wisecracking alien who has been holed up in Area 51 for the last 60 years, but now decides it’s time to leave the top-secret military base. He ends up hitching a ride with comic book geeks Graeme and Clive as they start a road trip after attending San Diego Comic-Con.

2. Will I like it?
If you read this blog regularly, then I’m fairly confident in saying that you will. The movie was written by and stars übergeeks Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, whom you may know from or Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz or the excellently geeky British sitcom, Spaced.

3. Will my kids like it?
If they’re old enough to get in, then probably. The film is rated R, as Paul likes his weed, and there’s a lot of swearing — and that’s British-style swearing, too. After meeting Paul, Kristin Wiig’s character, Ruth, rejects her strict religious upbringing and starts swearing like a trooper. Except that she doesn’t really know how to do it properly, so just strings lots of rude words together. There’s no mention of the c-word that I can remember, but her delivery of the medically correct term for that particular part of the female anatomy is genius.

Graeme and Clive at Comic-Con

4. What’s the geek appeal?
Are you kidding me? Pegg and Frost pack so many in jokes and references into the hundred or so minutes, that hardly one of those minutes goes by without a nod to Star Wars, Star Trek or some kind of alien (small ‘a’ intentional) movie. One of the best gags sees the queen of sci-fi, Sigourney Weaver, having one of her most famous lines thrown back at her. And there’s a bit of music hidden away in one scene that might take you a few bars to recognize, but you’ll laugh out loud when it sinks in. And, yes, it really is that person on the other end of the phone in that warehouse.

5. When’s the best time for a bathroom break?
I couldn’t really say for sure, but because of a few pre-movie beverages with my fellow got-a-rare-night-out Dads, I popped out twice and I don’t think I missed anything important. I did however earn the ridicule of my fellows for echoing Nick Frost’s character and his “child’s bladder.”

You know how sometimes you hear about an upcoming movie and you think “That sounds like could be fun, but unless they get a great cast it’ll flop completely?” The movie Paul was like that for me, a few months ago, but now that I’ve heard about the cast I can barely wait until it hits theaters.

The basic plot of Paul, set to be released next year,is that two British comic book geeks are taking a long road trip in the U.S. on their way to Comic-Con, and meet an alien as they pass through Area 51 in Nevada. Could be good, right? But unless you get actors who can play the geeks believably, it’ll just be another ha-ha-aren’t-geeks-dorky film, you say?

Well, it turns out that the geeks are being played by Simon Pegg (of Shaun of the Dead, Star Trek and lots more) and Nick Frost (probably best known by U.S. geeks for “Spaced”). The alien (the Paul after whom the movie is named) is being played by Seth Rogen. And the rest of the cast includes such folks as the awesome Jane Lynch (currently on “Glee” as the cheerleading coach), Jason Bateman, Sigourney Weaver, Blythe Danner, Kristen Wiig, Jeffrey Tambor, and Bill Hader. You know, nobody good.

So, check out the movie’s website, which has tons of videos from the set about the movie’s progress and with cast interviews and such. One such video, with Pegg and Frost discussing some of the shoot’s “best bits” on the last day of principal photography, is below.